Didi Gregorius May Be Out For Season With Injured Wrist

Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorius may miss the remainder of the regular season and postseason due to an injury suffered during Sunday’s loss to the Orioles. Gregorius has arguably been one of the most productive Yankees this year, and if he is out for the season, the odds on the Yankees playing significant October baseball have become much worse than before. The one possible bright spot is that team trainers and physicians think it may still be possible for Gregorius to play after taking a few days off, according to NJ Advance Media.

What he is dealing with is torn cartilage in his right wrist, which medically it is possible to play through. The main questions are whether playing through it is likely to cause any long-term or permanent damage, and if he plays through it, how will it impact his performance on the field? To help get a better idea of what is going on, Gregorius will sit out five days and be reevaluated.

Gregorious received a cortisone shot on Sunday and has a followup MRI scheduled for Friday to look at the tear again. With the tear being in his right wrist, it could potentially affect both his throwing and hitting depending on what kind of range of motion he has left. Should Gregorius be out of action for the rest of the season, the Yankees do have a few options for how to proceed without him.

An oh-by-the-way from Aaron Boone:

Didi Gregorius tore cartilage in his wrist on the slide home yesterday. Boone said there is a chance he does not return this season.

Gleyber Torres can move to shortstop, which he has done before when Gregorius has missed time, as that is his natural position. That would most likely mean that Neil Walker would play second as he is a solid defender and likely has the most reliable bat of the infielders currently on the bench, per Bronx Pinstripes. The other option is Ronald Torreyes playing second, possibly in a platoon situation with Tyler Wade. Each of them are serious gloves, but they don’t hit very much which is why they may be tough to slot in any role other than that of a late inning defensive replacement.

What may actually make the most sense, however, is leaving Torres at second and using Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop, per NJ Advance Media. Hechavarria may be the best defensively of all of the options, and although he isn’t known for his bat, he is serviceable at the plate and has even been hitting slightly above his average since joining the Yankees this summer.

Ideally, the Yankees hope they just need to give Gregorius a few days off, tape him up, and get him back in the game. Even if he is only playing at 80 percent, he is still a bigger threat than anyone else they can field. Sometime Friday afternoon, the Yankees and their fans will get an idea what their postseason odds really look like when his MRI results come back.